The Malaysian Insight

THE departure levy will be implemented on September 1 as announced by Putrajaya, said Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association president Albert Tan.

He told The Malaysian Insight that the association had received a heads-up on the tax two weeks ago.

Tan said the tax would not be retroactively applied to tickets that were purchased before September 1 but on flights that are taking off after that.

“The levy will be included in the tickets, individuals and groups will have to pay for it.”

Passengers will have to pay RM50 for business class (including first class) and RM8 for economy class for flights to Southeast Asian nations, and RM150 for business class and RM20 for economy class for flights to other countries.

Even though the implementation date of the levy had already been announced some time ago, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had recently said the government was still reviewing the levy as it was “unfair” that the amount is applied equally to budget carriers and full service airlines.

“We are studying it. If you are charging a low-cost airline the same levy as compared to full service ones, I think this is unfair and we will review it.”

Dr Mahathir said the levy must consider different factors such as airline type, capital and ticket price.

However, Transport Minister Anthony Loke later told The Malaysian Insight that the tax would still be implemented on September 1.

Tan said the government has not informed industry players if there are changes to the existing charges.

The Malaysian Insight had reported that the levy would be exempted for children under two years old, airline crew members, private flights and those in transit.

Muslims performing the haj for the first time will receive a one-time exemption.

However, the charges might be subject to change after the prime minister announced the review.

Tan said, according to the notice issued two weeks ago, any group or individual travelling for religious purposes could apply for a levy exemption when purchasing their tickets.

Malaysia Airlines has announced on its website that all passengers will have to pay the departure levy starting on September 1.

The airline also said passengers can check tax code “G1” on its internet reservation service for more information.

It also said the levy would be in addition to the passenger service charge, which costs RM11 on domestic flights, RM35 on flights to Southeast Asian countries, and RM73 to other countries. – August 27, 2019.